Immigration Reform News 2013: Survey Says Six in 10 Americans Back Path To Citizenship

For politicians who have taken a side on immigration reform, it may come as a relief for proponents on the issue that more Americans are starting to favor granting immigrants a path to citizenship, as a new survey shows.

A new survey from the Brookings Institution and the Public Religion Research Institute released Thursday found that 63 percent of respondents favor granting citizenship to undocumented immigrants. Of the survey, 21 percent said they wanted such immigrants deported while 14 percent felt that undocumented immigrants should be granted legal status, not citizenship.

In addition, majorities of all religious groups also favor allowing undocumented immigrants the right to become citizens pending their meeting of certain criteria. Those groups including Hispanic Catholics, Hispanic Protestants, black Protestants, Jewish Americans, Mormons, white Catholics, white mainline Protestands and white evangelical Protestants.

And along party lines, the numbers in the survey have shown a majority of the major parties agreeing that a path to citizenship should be provided. Roughly 71 percent Democrats, 53 percent of Republicans and 64 percent of independents favor a pathway to citizenship.

The news comes as a sign that politicians who have embraced immigration reform could be on the right track. The bipartisan U.S. Senate panel that has been working on a compromise on immigration reform on Capitol Hill is reportedly closing in on an agreement that would allow undocumented immigrants to become citizens pending a certain number of criteria, as well as having the borders more secured.

However, with the news of support for citizenship for immigrants growing, there also comes the indication that Americans are still split in terms of how they view immigrants.

Roughly 54 percent told the survey that the growing influx of immigrants help strengthen society in the U.S. However, a "significant minority" of 40 percent said that newcomers threaten traditional American customs and values.